A bedtime routine works because it's the same steps in the same order every night, not because any single step is special. A printed checklist is what makes that repeatable without a grown-up narrating it each time.
See it in every style
Wind down step by step, all the way to lights out.
Tidy up toys
7:00 pm
Bath or shower
7:15 pm
Put on pajamas
7:30 pm
Brush teeth
7:40 pm
Pick tomorrow's clothes
7:45 pm
Read a story
7:50 pm
Lights out
8:00 pm
Print it, stick it up, check it off.
Wind down step by step, all the way to lights out.
Tidy up toys
7:00 pm
Bath or shower
7:15 pm
Put on pajamas
7:30 pm
Brush teeth
7:40 pm
Pick tomorrow's clothes
7:45 pm
Read a story
7:50 pm
Lights out
8:00 pm
Print it, stick it up, check it off.
Wind down step by step, all the way to lights out.
Tidy up toys
7:00 pm
Bath or shower
7:15 pm
Put on pajamas
7:30 pm
Brush teeth
7:40 pm
Pick tomorrow's clothes
7:45 pm
Read a story
7:50 pm
Lights out
8:00 pm
Print it, stick it up, check it off.
Wind down step by step, all the way to lights out.
Tidy up toys
7:00 pm
Bath or shower
7:15 pm
Put on pajamas
7:30 pm
Brush teeth
7:40 pm
Pick tomorrow's clothes
7:45 pm
Read a story
7:50 pm
Lights out
8:00 pm
Print it, stick it up, check it off.
Wind down step by step, all the way to lights out.
Tidy up toys
7:00 pm
Bath or shower
7:15 pm
Put on pajamas
7:30 pm
Brush teeth
7:40 pm
Pick tomorrow's clothes
7:45 pm
Read a story
7:50 pm
Lights out
8:00 pm
Print it, stick it up, check it off.
Wind down step by step, all the way to lights out.
Tidy up toys
7:00 pm
Bath or shower
7:15 pm
Put on pajamas
7:30 pm
Brush teeth
7:40 pm
Pick tomorrow's clothes
7:45 pm
Read a story
7:50 pm
Lights out
8:00 pm
Print it, stick it up, check it off.
Wind down step by step, all the way to lights out.
Tidy up toys
7:00 pm
Bath or shower
7:15 pm
Put on pajamas
7:30 pm
Brush teeth
7:40 pm
Pick tomorrow's clothes
7:45 pm
Read a story
7:50 pm
Lights out
8:00 pm
Print it, stick it up, check it off.
Wind down step by step, all the way to lights out.
Tidy up toys
7:00 pm
Bath or shower
7:15 pm
Put on pajamas
7:30 pm
Brush teeth
7:40 pm
Pick tomorrow's clothes
7:45 pm
Read a story
7:50 pm
Lights out
8:00 pm
Print it, stick it up, check it off.
Wind down step by step, all the way to lights out.
Tidy up toys
7:00 pm
Bath or shower
7:15 pm
Put on pajamas
7:30 pm
Brush teeth
7:40 pm
Pick tomorrow's clothes
7:45 pm
Read a story
7:50 pm
Lights out
8:00 pm
Print it, stick it up, check it off.
Wind down step by step, all the way to lights out.
Tidy up toys
7:00 pm
Bath or shower
7:15 pm
Put on pajamas
7:30 pm
Brush teeth
7:40 pm
Pick tomorrow's clothes
7:45 pm
Read a story
7:50 pm
Lights out
8:00 pm
Print it, stick it up, check it off.
Preview updated.
Wind down step by step, all the way to lights out.
Tidy up toys
7:00 pm
Bath or shower
7:15 pm
Put on pajamas
7:30 pm
Brush teeth
7:40 pm
Pick tomorrow's clothes
7:45 pm
Read a story
7:50 pm
Lights out
8:00 pm
You're doing great this week.
Pick the age band closest to your child to load a starter routine.
Put the steps in the order your evenings already run — don't invent a new one.
Switch the times off if bedtime moves around during the week.
Print it and put it where the routine starts, usually the bathroom.
Keep it the same every night; that consistency is what does the work.
It doesn't much matter whether bath comes before or after pajamas — what matters is that it's the same every night. Predictability is what tells a child's body it's time to slow down, and a checklist is a cheap, visible way to enforce that same order without a parent having to repeat it out loud every evening.
It also cuts down on the negotiating. "What's next" is answered by the chart, not by whoever's putting them to bed that night, which matters more than it sounds like on a night when that's not the same person as usual.
The default routine runs five to seven steps: tidy up, bath or shower, pajamas, brush teeth, a story, and lights out. Older kids' versions swap in more independent steps — packing tomorrow's backpack, screens off — in place of ones a younger child still needs help with.
Yes — add it as one of your own steps in the builder; the tween default list already includes a "screens off" step.
Yes, they're built to match — see the morning routine checklist.
Five to seven is the sweet spot. Fewer than that skips the wind-down; more than that turns bedtime into its own chore nobody wants to do.
Yes, no account or payment, and the PDF has no watermark.
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Math, reading, spelling, writing, logic, and time practice for grades K-5.
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